Spooky season is almost upon us, and in any other year, that would mean theatrical horror releases, retrospective re-releases, and horror film festivals nationwide. But since we’re nearly 8 months into the COVID pandemic with a faint ray of hope in sight, the current solution is Nightstream, a collaborative horror film festival that runs from October 8 through 11th.
After the virtual Fantasia Fest, the next 2020 virtual genre fest down the pike is Nightstream, which is a collaboration between Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights. As mentioned, it’ll run from October 8th through the 11th with select films available until October 14th. The feature film lineup (below features a number of films from this year’s Fantasia (some of which we covered and recommend checking out), as well as a number of world, US, and North American premieres, streaming platform exclusives, and films that would have premiered at Tribeca, Telluride, and SXSW. Run, from Searching director & co-writer Aneesh Chaganty, opens Nightstream, and Mandibles, from Deerskin director Quentin Dupieux, closes the festival.
Opening Night: RUN – United States | 2020 | 90 Min.
World Premiere; Lionsgate release acquired by Hulu (Nov. 20, 2020 release)
Dir. Aneesh Chaganty
32 MALASAÑA STREET – Spain | 2020 | 105 Min.
North American Premiere; Shudder original film
Dir. Albert Pintó
ANYTHING FOR JACKSON – Canada | 2020 | 97 Min
U.S. Premiere
Dir. Justin G. Dyck
AV: THE HUNT – Turkey | 2020 | 87 Min
North American Premiere
Dir. Emre Akay
BLACK BEAR – USA | 2019 | 104 Min.
Momentum Pictures release
Dir. Lawrence Michael Levine
BLEED WITH ME – Canada | 2020 | 79 Min.
Epic Pictures release
Dir. Amelia Moses
BLOODY HELL – Australia, USA | 2020 | 95 Min.
North American Premiere
Dir. Alister Grierson
BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL – Ireland | 2020 | 89 Min.
North American Premiere (intended for Tribeca)
Dir. Chris Baugh
BREAKING SURFACE – Sweden, Norway, Belgium | 2020 | 81 Min.
U.S. Premiere; Doppelganger Releasing Film
Dir. Joachim Hedén
CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER – United States | 2020 | 90 Min.
Dark Star Pictures release
Dir. Mickey Reece
COME TRUE – Canada | 2020 | 105 Min
U.S. Premiere
Dir. Anthony Scott Burns
DARKNESS – Italy | 2019 | 98 Min.
U.S. Premiere
Dir. Emanuela Rossi
DETENTION – Taiwan | 2019 | 103 Min.
Dir. John Hsu
DINNER IN AMERICA – United States | 2020 | 106 Min.
Dir. Adam Carter Rehmeier
THE DOORMAN – United States | 2020 | 93 Min.
World Premiere; Lionsgate release
Dir. Ryûhei Kitamura
EMA – Chile | 2019 | 107 Min.
Music Box Films release
Dir. Pablo Larrain
FRANK & ZED – United States | 93 Min.
World Premiere
Dir. Jesse Blanchard
HONEYDEW – United States | 2020 | 106 Min.
World Premiere (intended for Tribeca)
Dir. Devereux Milburn
HUNTED – Belgium, France, Ireland | 2020 | 96 Min.
U.S. Premiere; Shudder original film
Dir. Vincent Paronnaud
IT CUTS DEEP – United States | 2020 | 77 Min
World Premiere; Dark Sky Films release
Dir. Nicholas Payne Santos
JUMBO – Belgium, France | 2020 | 93 Min.
Dark Star Pictures release
Dir. Zoé Wittock
LAPSIS – United States | 2020 | 108 Min.
Film Movement release
Dir. Noah Hutton
LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST – United States / Spain | 2020 | 105 Min.
Dir. Alexandre O. Phillippe
LUCKY – United States | 2020 | 81 Min.
U.S. Premiere (intended for SXSW); Shudder original film
Dir. Natasha Kermani
MAY THE DEVIL TAKE YOU TOO – Indonesia | 2020 | 110 Min.
International Premiere; Shudder original film
Dir. Timo Tjahjanto
MY HEART CAN’T BEAT UNLESS YOU TELL IT TO – United States | 2020 | 90 Min.
North American Premiere (intended for Tribeca); Dark Sky Films release
Dir. Jonathan Cuartas
THE NEST – Italy | 2019 | 103 Min.
Dir. Roberto De Feo
THE NIGHT – United States | 2020 | 105 Min.
North American Premiere; IFC Midnight release
Dir. Kourosh Ahari
THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON – United States | 2019 | 104 Min.
Dir. Ali Leroi
PELICAN BLOOD – Germany, Bulgaria | 2019 | 121 Min.
Dir. Katrin Gebbe
THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC – Indonesia | 2019 | 99 Min.
Dir. Kimo Stamboel
REUNION – United States | 2020 | 95 Min.
World Premiere; Dark Sky Films release
Dir. Jake Mahaffy
THE RETURNED – Argentina | 2019 | 92 Min.
North American Premiere
Dir. Laura Casabé
ROSE PLAYS JULIE – Ireland, UK | 2020 | 100 Min.
Film Movement release
Dir. Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor
SURVIVAL SKILLS – United States | 2020 | 84 Min.
Dir. Quinn Armstrong
TIME OF MOULTING – Germany | 2020 | 80 Min.
U.S. Premiere
Dir. Sabrina Mertens
AN UNQUIET GRAVE – USA | 2020 | 72 Min.
World Premiere
Dir. Terence Krey
Closing Night: MANDIBLES – France | 2020 | 77 Min
North American Premiere; Magnolia Pictures
Dir. Quentin Dupieux
In addition to the feature film slate, there are a wide array of panels and trivia programs, as well as retro releases and short film collections curated by each festival. This includes conversations with Candyman director Nia DaCosta, a 20th anniversary celebration of American Psycho with director Mary Harron, and a screenwriting chat with A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, in addition to podcast recordings of Horror Queers, Switchblade Sisters, and The Witching Hour.
You can find the entire lineup on the Nightstream site, in addition to buying badges to experience the scares for yourself!
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